Rep. Steve Cohen  expressed dismay at evidence that bikini model Victoria Brink was not his daughter.

“I was stunned and dismayed when DNA tests disproved what Victoria and I believed about our relationship,” Cohen (D-Tenn.) said in a statement July 18 after DNA tests organized by CNN proved that John Brink was the father. “I still love Victoria, hold dear the time I have shared with her, and hope to continue to be a part of her life.”

Cohen’s revelation of his belief that Brink was his daughter came in February after he sent her Twitter account loving messages while he was attending President Obama’s State of the Union address. The Jewish lawmaker deleted the tweets, but reporters already were questioning the relationship between the two, neither of whom is married.

Cohen then revealed that Brink’s mother, who had divorced her husband a year after Brink’s birth in 1988, had told him four years ago that he was Brink’s father.

Cohen and Brink’s mother, Cynthia White Sinatra, knew each other at the time, but it was not clear in what capacity.

Cohen then contacted Brink and they became close; she accompanied him to last year’s White House Christmas party.

CNN sought DNA tests from Cohen, Brink and John Brink, who had believed he was Victoria’s father. The tests proved conclusively that John Brink was the father.

Ron Kampeas is JTA’s Washington bureau chief, responsible for coordinating coverage in the U.S. capital and analyzing political developments that affect the Jewish world. He comes to JTA from The Associated Press, where he worked for more than a decade in its bureaus in Jerusalem, New York, London and, most recently, Washington. He has reported from Northern Ireland, Afghanistan, Bosnia and West Africa. While living in Israel, he also worked for the Jerusalem Post and several Jewish organizations.